Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano will join family members, colleagues and friends of Firefighter Paul Warhola to honor his memory at a plaque dedication ceremony at 10 a.m.on Friday, August 13 at the quarters of Engine 221/Ladder 104, 161 South 2nd Street in Brooklyn.

"The FDNY has had remarkable success reducing fire deaths in our city, and also cutting response times to fires, both to all-time record lows," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That's the FDNY that Paul Warhola helped to shape, by giving the department so much of himself when it needed him most - especially after 9/11 inflicted such terrible losses."

“Firefighting is an extremely demanding, strenuous and dangerous job,” said Commissioner Cassano. “Firefighter Warhola’s death is a tragic reminder that every day members of the FDNY put their lives on the line to protect the people and property of New York City.”

On Wednesday, August 12, at 3:38 a.m., Engine 221 responded to a fire alarm activation in an apartment building at 164 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Firefighter Warhola, who was the chauffeur of Engine 221, checked for a working fire hydrant outside the structure while the other members of Engine 221 entered the building to investigate the alarm. When they returned to the street, Firefighter Warhola was experiencing weakness, dizziness and difficulty breathing. The firefighters began providing medical treatment and transported him back to the firehouse. FDNY paramedics evaluated Firefighter Warhola, recognized his symptoms as possibly stroke-related and transported him to Bellevue Hospital, where he later passed away.

Firefighter Warhola was appointed to the FDNY on January 16, 1994 and spent his entire career working at Engine 221. He was a resident of Eastport, New York and is survived by his wife, Arleen; his son, Paul; and his daughter, Tiana. Firefighter Warhola’s uncle, Michael Warchola, a Lieutenant at Ladder Company 5 in Manhattan, was also killed in the Line of Duty on September 11, 2001.